Paradise
by MarilynJean
Summary: In the split second that nothing happened, hatred was etched into both of their faces. Then, simultaneously, they attacked. Oneshot, Final Battle. Will his best be enough?


**Disclaimer: I own none of the characters.**

The final battle. Curses were flying all around him, but he took no notice. Screams echoed in the darkness, but it was all meaningless noise compared to the task at hand. Dozens of faceless bodies were falling all around him, none of them recognizable. He wouldn't allow himself to concentrate on those things right now.

He stood still, wand raised, up-right and proud like his father. He could hear the voice in his head, 'Be strong.' He drew strength from it. He was completely un-aware of all the fighting going on around him. He stood there, staring into the eyes of the one he must defeat, must vanquish.

It was as though time stood still. The flashes and voices were there all around him, but he was zoned into only one thing. He stared into the face of the enemy and the enemy stared right back. In the split second that nothing happened, hatred was etched into both of their faces. Then, simultaneously, they attacked.

No one around them took any notice of the hate-filled battle that had suddenly started in the middle of the clearing. It was an intense, silent war and once again, it was personal.

It wasn't until a loud, high-pitched voice had echoed into the night did everyone else stop what they were doing. Not even the Death Eaters cared anymore about defeating their opponents for the battle they were now witnessing would determine everything. Would they be victorious? Or were they, all along, fighting for the weaker cause? This whole train of thought was started by just one, loud, high-pitched shriek that was projected into the night air.

'_Harr_y!' It was Ginny.

Harry listened to this voice, for it was the one he had been longing to hear. He was weakening, for he was merely a 17 year old boy. How could he be expected to defeat the greatest wizard of all time when he was still in school? How could he be expected to save the world, once again, when he hardly counted himself as a man? He was still a boy…just a boy. But when he heard this voice, all doubts vanished. In this voice was everything he needed to be strong. Love, hope, trust, strength, encouragement, faith, all packed into one word. She knew he could do it, and so he knew too.

And so, all on Harry's doing, the battle became fiercer. Everyone gaped in awe, secretly, down deep, nobody thought he would stand a chance in a real duel with the Dark Lord. Dumbledore had believed in him, but he was gone. Ginny believed in him, and so that was all he had left. Everybody else had their meaningless encouragement when you could tell that they, like Harry, thought that a 17 year old boy could not defeat the most dark and terrible wizard of all time.

The Death Eaters were shocked. This little boy, hardly a man, was an equal to their master? And they could do nothing but watch. Watch, and see what would become of them. Watch and see. Would they be forced to flee and rally around a new Lord? For they could not go back into society, everyone knew what they were. Or would they be victorious? Would they celebrate tonight and take over tomorrow? Everything depended on this battle unfolding in front of their eyes.

Save the word. Save the world. Save the world, Harry, save the world. It's all down to you. Save us all. You're our hero. We need you. Save the world, Harry. Save the world.

These voices echoed in his head. He wasn't doing this for him; he was doing this for everyone else. He was doing this for his parents, for Cedric, for Sirius, for Dumbledore. He was doing this for everyone who just lost their lives today, in this battle. He was doing this for the families that have suffered. He was doing this for the brave people who have died refusing Voldemort or protecting their families. He wasn't just doing this for himself anymore; he was doing this for the world. Save the world, Harry, save the world.

The one last piece of soul was in this body facing him. The most difficult to destroy, it was being protected by more than spells. It fought back. It had skills. It had a brain. But it did not have a heart.

_Strength the Dark Lord knows not…Strength the Dark Lord knows not. _Love. The answer is love.

And so he summoned up all of his feelings, all of his memories. He loved so many people. He loved his parents, he loved Sirius, and he loved Dumbledore. He loved Remus, he loved Ron, and he loved Hermione. But there was someone he loved in a different way. He loved Ginny.

As he gathered all of his feelings he felt powerful, he felt inflated. He had never done this before, but he somehow knew what to do. He pulled it all together, and forced these feelings out of his wand.

Out came a multi-coloured beam of light. He could feel the most powerful part of it at the end, his love for Ginny, the love that would finish his opponent off. This beam of light hit Voldemort squarely in his chest and he was shocked. 'What is this magic?' He screamed before he collapsed and his destroyed body and soul withered away into nothingness.

For a moment their was silence, then many separate 'popping' noises as each and every one of the Death Eaters dissaparated. The good side was victorious.

The silence stretched on, and Harry could feel every pair of eyes in the clearing on him. Weakened greatly, he fell to his knees and let his head drop. Then he heard one pair of feet rushing towards him.

Slowly lifting his head, his eyes met the most wonderful sight in the world; A shock of ginger hair sitting on top of the most beautiful girl imaginable.

'I love you Ginny.'

'I love you too Harry.' She knelt down and they hugged. They hugged for a long time until everything seemed alright. It was like the last year of being apart had never happened. This, thought Harry, was paradise.

There were tears in everybody's eyes, but they were tears of joy. They had succeeded. The biggest threat to everybody was gone, destroyed. The silent happiness was bliss, for at a time like this, there was no need to talk. Nobody, moved, nobody spoke, and it was all anyone could have asked for until the two most hated words broke the silence.

'_Avada Kedavra_.'

Harry was still crying in Ginny's arms when the green beam of light hit him squarely in the back. The tone of the silence changed as he fell limp in her arms. Then there was one, final 'pop' as Bellatrix Lestrange disappeared from behind a tree.

'No,' Said Ginny hysterically as she laid Harry on the ground. 'No! It didn't happen, it can't be!

Remus separated himself from the crowd that was now crying tears of pain and anguish and gently guided Ginny back to her family before taking Tonks into his arms. Hermione was shaking as she cried into Ron's shoulder. Tears were falling down Ron's long nose. Professor McGonagol was holding a handkerchief up to her face and both Luna and Neville were openly sobbing.

How can this have happened? Why was life stolen from their hero mere minutes after he had finally succeeded in ridding the world of the threat that was Voldemort? It was unfair, it was unjust. But it was all Harry wanted.

As the life was stolen from his body, it went somewhere else. He was floating up above and could see the seen from an aerial view. He would miss all of those people, but they would join him again. Right now he could see people up above him, waving at him. His parents, Sirius and Dumbledore were all there and Harry felt his heart inflate. He was not suicidal, but this was what he had been wanting for a long time. He wanted to see these people again, for he missed them so much. It wasn't as though he would never see those people still on earth anymore. He promised himself that he would go down from time to time and whisper in their ear. They will know it was him. As he went up to join the people he loved, he knew. This was paradise.

**A/N: This was a one-shot I thought up about the final battle. Please leave an in-depth review I would really like to know how this turned out.**


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